In order to make the deal to buy out BellSouth, AT&T (T) agreed that for the next two years they would support the principles of Net neutrality, according to Online Media Daily.
They wrote a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) saying that they will "maintain a neutral network and neutral routing in its wireline broadband Internet access service."
The new AT&T/BellSouth company specifically said that it wouldn't provide "any service that privileges, degrades or prioritizes any packet transmitted over AT&T/BellSouth's wireline broadband Internet access service based on its "source, ownership or destination."
The agreement is for a period of two years from the official closing of the merger or if Congress passes legislation connected to Net Neutrality.
The fight centers around charging Web publishers fees for premium services or possibly blocking access to specific domains. Most Internet service providers follow neutrality at this time. Some telecom leaders have revealed that they want to charge Web businesses higher fees based upon usage or publishers more for faster speeds.
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